


Decide

by inspiredbythemusic



Series: EXO Drabbles [2]
Category: EXO (Band), K-pop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:33:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23561608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inspiredbythemusic/pseuds/inspiredbythemusic
Relationships: Oh Sehun/Reader, Oh Sehun/You, Park Chanyeol/Reader
Series: EXO Drabbles [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1695844
Comments: 3
Kudos: 15





	Decide

Everyone’s obsession with Sehun wasn’t a mystery. Aside from being undeniably the most attractive person anyone had ever seen, he was rumored to be the son of an international film executive. And as you were all in film school, boys and girls alike understood that making a good impression on Sehun could potentially open doors in the future.

“Well, Y/N,” your best friend, Ranea responded to your detailed report of how your film class had fallen into embarrassing chaos because of Sehun. She spat out the safety pin she had been holding in her mouth before continuing, “You know what they say in this business— networking is everything.”

“But you’re not supposed to network based on— on flirtations.” Your cheeks flushed as you elaborated, “You’re supposed to make an impact with your skills, not by batting your eyelashes and— ow!” As the pin jabbed into your ribs, you flinched. 

Ranea pouted. “Oh no, I got your blood on this fabric. The department head is going to kill me!” She was too worried about being scolded until she glanced up at your face. “Oh— duh!” She smacked herself in the forehead— with the pin, and screamed, “Ouch! Damn it— I’m sorry, Y/N.”

You gathered the fabric around your legs so you could comfortably lean forward to snatch the pin away before Ranea could wreak more havoc. “You’re a danger to yourself and others.”

Sobbing dramatically, she agreed, “I know!”

You delicately asked, sighing, “How long ‘til you go back to makeup?”

Her eyes came to life at the mention of her true passion. “Y/N, honey, I never left makeup. All this needlework? That’s just a part of my major or whatever.”

“Ah, I see.” You nodded before glancing at your watch. “Anyway, I agreed to be your live mannequin for an hour, and your time’s officially up.”

Ranea grumbled as she fished the paper out of her book bag. “You know the drill. Grade me out of 10, and don’t cheat this time!” After you giggled, she said, “Seriously! This is supposed to reflect my skills, not how much you love me.”

“Right, I know that,” you nodded as you penciled a 9 next to your signature. “If I were grading based on how much I love you, it’d be a perfect 10. Here ya go.” You returned the paper with a toothy smile.

“9?” Ranea’s boyfriend, a fellow cinematography student read over her shoulder once he stepped into the dressing room. He offered her a high five and cheered, “Way to go, babe!”

Flatly, Ranea said, “Don’t congratulate me, Chanyeol,” but she high fived him anyway. And she giggled when he laced their fingers upon impact. 

“Why not?” He smiled broadly at her laughter. “A 9 is damn near perfect!”

As you struggled to free yourself from the floor-length skirt Ranea pinned over your jeans, you explained, “She’s convinced I’m lying about her score to save her grade.”

“Oh, well, that’s bullshit, babe,” Chanyeol told Ranea shortly. “Y/N has more integrity than anyone in this school, both of us and all the teachers included.”

And when you nodded at Chanyeol gratefully and winked at Ranea as if to say ‘See, I told you so,’ she maintained, “Look, I know you’re lying.” She pointed a finger at you playfully. “There’s no way I deserve a 9 after I shanked you with that pin!”

Chanyeol unsuccessfully tried to repress his chuckle. “You shanked Y/N?”

You started, “Not that it isn’t hilarious that Ranea stuck me, or that she scratched herself in the forehead—”

At the mention of Ranea’s minor injury, Chanyeol stiffened. Pushing her hair out of her face so he could assess the wound himself, he asked, “Why did you do that?”

“I didn’t mean to…” her voice trailed off as Chanyeol pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. 

Overwhelmed with the sense that this was too intimate for you to watch, you averted your gaze. What was wrong with you? You weren’t jealous. You weren’t sickened by displays of affection. Ranea and Chanyeol were your favorite people, and they deserved to have each other. And you weren’t jaded by the concept of romance. So why couldn’t you watch a simple kiss on the forehead? 

How long had you been awkwardly staring at the paint-stained floor, tugging at your locket, before Raena asked, “Hey, Y/N? Where’s your mind at?”

You just shook your head, too busy resisting the urge to open the locket to speak, so Chanyeol answered for you. “If she’s like everyone else in our film foundations class, she’s even dreaming about that Sehun guy.”

Thankfully, the thick dressing room door was closed, so nobody outside could hear Chanyeol. Relieved only slightly, you claimed, “Well, I’m not obsessed with Sehun.”

“Right— that blush on your cheeks really proves how indifferent you are,” Chanyeol joked. 

Ranea glared at him as she unfastened the skirt. “Cut it out Chanyeol.”

Perhaps that should have comforted you, but it didn’t. Ranea never missed an opportunity to tease you, especially when Chanyeol was her partner in crime. When you turned to eye her suspiciously, you noticed that familiar playful grin tugging at her lips. “She only has a ‘tiny’ crush on Sehun.” 

You scoffed at her air quotes and crossed your arms over your chest with an especially childlike huff, but you didn’t deny anything. 

“Oh, I see.” Chanyeol tapped on his chin as if to indicate deep thought. “She’s just in denial because she doesn’t want to seem like those other girls Sehun doesn’t like.”

The worst part of their teasing was that they weren’t wrong. You were well aware of the way your heart raced whenever Sehun deliberately caught your eye before scribbling onto his clipboard— as if he wanted you to know that he was observing your every move. 

You knew Chanyeol witnessed how you tightly gripped the light stand until your knuckles turned unnaturally white that time Sehun passed by to swiftly remark, “Good job,” on his way off set. You knew it because Chanyeol winked, mouthed, ‘Don’t drop it,’ and developed an annoying habit of humming “Good job” after class every day. 

And you were too conscious of the recurring thought that even if Sehun wasn’t an esteemed guest in your class, even if you just met him somewhere in public under totally casual terms, you wouldn’t have the nerve to approach someone so perfect and, quite frankly, intimidating. 

“Hey, earth to Y/N.” Ranea waved her hand in your face. “What do you say? Want me to do your makeup so you can hide that blush from Sehun?”  
You weren’t really paying attention as you traced over your necklace again, mumbling, “Sure,” and collapsed into a chair.  
… 

As you and Chanyeol set the lights, you scowled at the girls too busy squealing about Sehun— rumored to be wearing all black today— to help prepare to shoot. “At what point does this kind of chaos become a safety concern?”

“What?” Chanyeol asked, so you gestured vaguely at the group of girls crowding the door. He clicked his tongue. “Yeah, as a film student who actually wants to learn, I agree with you— they’re stupid. But as your friend—” Chanyeol choked on his laughter, indicating that more teasing was on the way. “Y/N, you really shouldn’t worry about them. I’m sure Sehun only has eyes for you.”

You only rolled your eyes. “I see the scheduled boom operators are over there, hoping for an autograph or something.”

“I’m pretty sure they’re waiting for a kiss—”

Uninterested in Chanyeol’s mockery, you continued as if you hadn’t heard him, “So I guess today we’ll have to take over for them.”

“Ugh, really?” Chanyeol groaned. His eyes widened as he pleaded, “Come on, Y/N, today’s our turn to sit with the Director, Script Supervisor, and even your future husband. Haven’t we already done enough to prepare the set?”

You knew today was supposed to be your day to sit with them; and to some degree, you were trying to avoid having to be so close to Sehun for a long period. But mostly, you insisted upon operating the mics because, “Chayeol, I really don’t wanna hear Mr. Jung yell at us because those girls aren’t doing their jobs—”

“But they deserve to get yelled at!”

“Haven’t you ever heard that the show must go on?” It was the first show business phrase that came to mind, but you weren’t sure it made much sense in this situation. You revised, “Or what about all those times Mr. Jung barks that we’re a team and we have to look out for each other? For the sake of the shoot, we have a responsibility—”

“So one minute you hate those vultures for swarming around your man, and now you’re ditching the opportunity to sit and talk to him to save their asses?” Chanyeol gawked at you. 

“Yes!” You agreed passionately as the chatter by the door indicated that Sehun and Mr. Jung had arrived. Then, realizing what Chanyeol said, you said, “Well, kind of— we don’t have to sit with Sehun, but we need boom operators to shoot.”

Chanyeol likely would have resisted further, and cursed your attempts to convince him to do more of others’ work, were it not for Mr. Jung screaming, “Where are my boom operators?” and the subsequent shuffling of other students digging through their bags for their schedules. 

“Got it, Mr. Jung!” You answered and motioned for Chanyeol to follow. 

You reddened under Sehun’s gaze as Mr. Jung scolded the class. “I see it’s another day of Y/N and Chanyeol running the set. Did you do the lights and set up these chairs, too?”

Noticing that you were too flustered by the attention, Chanyeol answered as he lifted the boom, “We’re just doing what needs to be done, sir.”

“Whenever you all can be bothered to find your schedules, ” Mr. Jung shoved his glasses higher onto the bridge of his nose as he glared, “everyone scheduled to light and set up the chairs, just go home, and write me a humble letter explaining why the hell I shouldn’t kick you out of this program.” 

Even when class was dismissed, you couldn’t forget your classmates’ scowls. Because he’d known you long enough to sense when you were upset, Chanyeol advised, “Don’t even think about them. We’re the ones who did our jobs. Hell, we did more than our jobs— we’re the good guys. Even Mr. Jung said it, we’re the reason anything gets done around here.” And when you smiled, he returned the gesture.

“Hey, Ranea said you’re going out tonight—”

Stirred by your reminder, Chanyeol checked his watch. He grimaced, “Crap, I’m already running late.”

“Just go on now,” you urged as you set to work disassembling the lights, as was required after every class. When Chanyeol faltered, his gaze alternating from you to the door, you said, hands on your hips and with a friendly smile, “Do I look like I can’t handle this myself? Go! Don’t make Raena wait!”

And with a rushed “Thanks, Y/N!” Chanyeol rushed to meet her. 

Only a few minutes passed in silence before Sehun spoke coolly, glancing at you briefly over his notes. “I could’ve sworn you were dating him.”

You looked around the studio, half-convinced that he had to be talking to somebody else, and blushed at the realization that everyone else was gone. You stopped working to meet his gaze directly as you asked, “Me and Chanyeol?”

Sehun nodded stiffly. “You do everything together. Your movements are always in sync. I’ve never seen anything like that.”

Focusing your attention on the lights, you explained, “That’s because he taught me everything he knows about film.” Then, although it was none of Sehun’s business, you continued, “Even if he wasn’t dating Ranea, I could never be attracted to Chanyeol.”

As you wondered if you’d shared too much, Sehun inquired, at least sounding interested, “Who’s Ranea?”

“My best friend— you wouldn’t know her. She spends most of her time downstairs, doing makeup—”

You gasped, realizing that Sehun was standing in front of you, watching you. He never did anything like this during class; somehow, during those quick peeks away from his notes, he somehow saw everything he wanted to see. What was so fascinating about clean up, especially compared to a busy day on set, that required his full attention?

Too embarrassed to concentrate on your work, you asked, “Why are you staring at me?”

“I’m trying to decide if I want to help you.” On the rare occasion that he decided to speak during class, his sentences were brief, to the point, and void of emotion. So why did he amusedly raise his eyebrows as he spoke to you now?

You tore your eyes away from him. “Well, help if you want, but you don’t need to. I can do this myself.”

As you stepped around him, Sehun said, “I know that. I’ve been around long enough to realize that you do everything here.”

“Chanyeol helps,” you corrected immediately. “Somebody has to do the work, and everyone else is too distracted to do anything worthwhile.”

“Distracted?” Sehun repeated slowly. “By what?”

When you looked at him, you expected to see some arrogant smirk; so you were surprised to watch Sehun’s eyebrows knit together in apparent bewilderment.  
How had he not heard everyone whispering about him? Was he accustomed to the constant chaos? Did people always shamelessly fawn over him?

You didn’t know, and it seemed inappropriate to ask. And you didn’t feel comfortable explaining everything that made Sehun a distraction, so you simply asked, “Are you going to help, sir? Or are you going to keep standing there and distracting me?”

Sehun laughed airily when you called him ‘sir,’ but his innocent smile twisted into a devilish smirk when he realized, “So I’m the distraction?”

And when you devoted yourself to your task to avoid responding, in a futile effort to ignore the butterflies in your stomach, Sehun asked another question. “Do you think you could never be attracted to that Chanyeol guy because he’s worked with you?”

“What?” It was shocking that he was asking such a personal question since he was in a professional setting. 

Then again, according to Ranea’s unsolicited research, he was roughly your age. Maybe because nobody ever bothered to speak to him as if he were a normal young man, Sehun didn’t understand how to properly socialize. Or maybe he just enjoyed seeing you squirm in response to his questions. You couldn’t be sure of anything other than that talking to Sehun was almost panic-inducing— and you couldn’t decide if you enjoyed it. 

Sehun responded plainly, “I’m still deciding if I want to help you.”

It was increasingly difficult to understand Sehun, but you answered as simply as you could. “No. I’m not attracted to Chanyeol because he’s been my friend for too long.”

Pursing his lips, Sehun asked, “So I shouldn’t be your friend either?”  
… 

“Obviously,” Ranea tried to explain over lunch the next day, “Sehun wants you to be attracted to him. So if helping you is what makes Chanyeol unattractive to you, Sehun wouldn’t help you. If being your friend made Chanyeol unattractive, Sehun doesn’t want to be your friend.”

Chanyeol interrupted to ask, “But I am attractive, right?” and he pouted when neither you nor Ranea reacted. 

“Great—” You shoved your leftovers toward Chanyeol. “As if I need another reason for everyone in the class to hate me! Now the universal heartthrob is talking to me after class.”

“I don’t hate you,” Chanyeol interjected as he pulled your plate closer. “Have I gone completely invisible because of Sehun?”

“No, babe,” Ranea rubbed his arm comfortingly. “You’re visible and very cute.”

And before Chanyeol could take the opportunity to flirt with her, Ranea continued, “Anyway, Y/N, who cares what anyone else thinks? A very successful, very attractive—”

“But not more attractive than me,” Chanyeol was sure to note. 

“Chanyeol, please— Y/N, my point is, you like Sehun, Sehun likes you, and nobody else’s opinion matters.”

You chewed on the inside of your cheek as you admitted, “I mean— do I know him well enough to like him? All he does is sit at the front of our class and write all over his clipboard. And when he talked to me for more than a second yesterday, he was weird. And he said he was going to ask Mr. Jung to change the schedule so I can sit with him today— and I don’t know how I feel about anything.”

Ranea draped her arm over your shoulders and pulled you into a hug. “Look— it’s not that big of a deal. I mean, obviously, the guy’s a little eccentric. But most artsy people are. And would I assume you’d fall in love with a man whose eyebrows always look that angry? Probably not— but I’m sure there are lots of things to like about him. And I know he has lots to like about you.”

“Yeah,” Chanyeol said through a mouthful of noodles. “Like how you keep your attraction to him quiet, unlike everyone else in the world.” Then, his eyes widened. “Wait— so today we get to sit with the director finally?”

“Chanyeol, honey, I doubt you’re invited,” Ranea said softly. “Clearly, Sehun thinks you’re some kind of competition—”

Chanyeol immediately argued, “But I don’t even like Y/N!” 

Ranea playfully kicked Chanyeol under the table as your jaw dropped at his rather loud declaration of disinterest in you. “Hey! That’s my best friend! Tell her she’s beautiful!”

And you really couldn’t care less what Chanyeol thought of you, but it kind of stung when he reluctantly said, “But—”

“Just tell her!”

“Y/N,” Chanyeol forced himself to say your name. “You’re beautiful.”

Someone cleared their throat behind you and Ranea. And when you both slowly turned to face Sehun, you realized why Chanyeol had been so hesitant to compliment you even at Ranea’s request. 

His ears singed pink, Sehun met your eyes and said, “I need to talk to you—” and then he cut his eyes at Chanyeol and added, “privately.”

Perhaps too eagerly, you clambered out of your seat. Once you followed him back to his table and obeyed his gesture for you to sit across from him, you asked, “How did you know I’d be here?”

“Coincidence— or luck— or fate, whichever you believe in,” Sehun answered quickly, adjusting his black dress shirt. Shrugging, he explained, “I just came here for lunch. And when I saw you, I realized it would be better to ask you here instead of in class, where your classmates may get the wrong idea.”

Your heart pounded in your ears. In what must have been a subconscious attempt to relieve your nerves, you tapped your fingers on the table. “Ask me what?”

“To work on a film for my father’s company,” Sehun answered swiftly. 

How was this somehow disappointing? It was your dream to work in the film industry, so why did your shoulders sag at Sehun’s explanation. Had you really fallen for Ranea’s and Chanyeol’s insistence that he liked you? 

No. That was stupid, and you knew it was. Sehun was an established studio executive, and you were still a student. More than that, you were even the youngest in your class— the most inexperienced filmmaker in your class. What interest could someone like you hold for someone like him?

You forced yourself to listen as Sehun explained, “That’s why I’ve been sitting in film classes at the university. It’s my job to recruit young talent, and I choose you.” He pulled stapled papers out of his briefcase and dropped them in front of you. “You’d work in lighting. The pay is above average for a student, but I suppose I could be convinced to negotiate with you.”

The Sehun before you was nothing like whoever spoke to you after class yesterday. Sure, he looked and sounded the same, but his eyebrows were arched with little effort and there was no upward tilt to his lips, which were an expressionless line. 

Reading through the contract, you absentmindedly recalled, “Mr. Jung said students usually only get jobs as assistants.”

“I do need an assistant, but I don’t think that position suits you well considering—” You thought Sehun might be smiling, but when you looked up at him, his expression hardened. “Well, nevermind. Aren’t you going to sign?”

When you took your time reading through the terms, Sehun said, “I didn’t intend to tell you this since I don’t want you to misunderstand my intentions, but I’m prepared to offer Chanyeol a job in lighting. And after looking over Ranea’s portfolio this morning, I decided to offer her a job with the makeup department.”

Your jaw dropped. “You’re going to hire me and my best friends?” It sounded too good to be true; and when Sehun raised his eyebrows at your reaction, you said, “You should know that none of us have ever worked on a real set—”

“Get out of the habit of selling yourself short,” Sehun scolded. Then, smiling slightly, he said, “They say executives have a feeling about these things. You’re my first choice, so I’m asking you first.”

“So when you were talking to me yesterday,” you asked, resigning yourself to the reality that Sehun was merely interested in you for your film skills, “were you just trying to decide if you wanted to hire me?”

Sehun tensed at the question. “I was trying to decide what I thought about you— but not for the job. You were the obvious choice from day one; I only kept showing up to allow others the chance to prove me wrong. But I was worried that my attraction to you could be clouding my judgment.”

While your breath caught in your throat at Sehun’s statement, you heard Chanyeol spit his drink out at his and Ranea’s nearby table. 

Somehow you dared to ask, “So you decided that you’re not attracted to me?”

“Don’t get the wrong idea,” Sehun warned, looking away from you. “I just decided that your professional attributes and—” He tapped on the table as he struggled with how to express himself. “I just realized that I could like you myself and still believe you’re the best person for the job. I needed to make sure that my choices for the potential employee and potential girlfriend were separate but equally valid.”

Stupidly, you repeated, “Girlfriend?”

“Of course, you’re not bound to either commitment unless you choose to be,” Sehun spoke more quickly as his blush deepened. “But before you decide anything, I should return this to you.” He pulled a small jewelry box out of his coat pocket and removed your locket from it. 

It wasn’t until that moment, when you grabbed around your neck, that you realized it was missing. 

“You dropped it yesterday,” Sehun explained. “The clasp broke. I took it to the jeweler and demanded an identical chain, but apparently, they aren’t made anymore. Still— here’s the original chain, in case you have any attachment to it.”

He delicately placed the locket, now hanging on a new silver chain, and the faded broken chain in your hand. 

“Did you open it?” You asked him as you returned the locket to its rightful place around your neck. 

“Why would I do that?” Sehun asked, frowning slightly. “Wouldn’t that be a sort of invasion of privacy?”

Indeed it would have been. Even Chanyeol and Ranea didn’t know who was in your locket. But as you studied Sehun, and Sehun studied you, you realized that you wouldn’t have been upset if he had opened it. 

“Why did you go through so much trouble over this?” 

Sehun shrugged, “It was no trouble— but I suppose I did it because I could afford it.” 

That made you wonder just how much the new chain cost; before you could think it through, you offered, “I’ll pay you back—”

And Sehun shook his head sternly. “No, you won’t. Even if you try, I won’t accept your money.” Then, breathing deeply, he admitted, “If you really want me to be honest, I did it because you wear that necklace every day. So I knew it was important to you. And I figured that if I could fix it for you, you would appreciate it—”

“I do,” you interrupted, embarrassed that you hadn’t thought to thank him. “I really do appreciate it; thank you so much.”

Sehun smiled softly. “You didn’t let me finish. I thought if I did that for you, you would like me.” Flustered, he ran a hand through his hair and leaned back in his chair. “Ah, that’s so stupid and childish. I should have asked Chanyeol to return it to you. Now it just seems like I’m trying to bribe you—”

“Look, Sehun,” you leaned forward onto the table so he would look at you instead of staring determinedly anywhere else. “You don’t have to bribe someone to take an amazing job— especially not a student like me. And you don’t have to bribe someone to be your girlfriend. Literally, everyone would dive at that opportunity.”

“Even you?” Sehun asked, raising his eyebrows hopefully. 

And with a sheepish nod, you answered, “Especially me.”


End file.
